Lessons on the Temple
Lesson No. Fifty-Three

Temple Worship Anciently

Temple worship before the coming of Christ – Joseph Smith taught that the temple ordinances were enjoyed in all previous dispensations:  “It may seem to some to be a very bold doctrine that we talk of—a power which records or binds on earth and binds in heaven. Nevertheless, in all ages of the world, whenever the Lord has given a dispensation of the priesthood to any man by actual revelation, or any set of men, this power has always been given” (D&C 128: 9).

Righteous followers of Christ beginning with Adam enjoyed all the blessings of the temple, but work for the dead was not performed prior to the Lord’s ministry in the spirit world where He commissioned His righteous followers to preach the gospel there.  (See D&C 138:30-35)  Prior to this time there was no purpose in doing vicarious temple work on earth for those in the spirit world.

Jesus introduced temple work for the dead to His followers in the Holy Land – Certainly His ancient apostles and other righteous followers were endowed during their mortal lives.  The temple endowment gave great strength to latter day saints as they left Nauvoo and moved west.  The Lord knew His ancient followers faced great persecution and martyrdom, and would need to be endowed with power from on high.  Peter, James, and John may have been endowed on the Mount of Transfiguration.   

After His resurrection the Lord appeared to His apostles and disciples many times over a forty-day period:  “To whom he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). “After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once” (1 Corinthians 15:6).

During His post-mortal appearances in the Holy Land the Lord likely introduced vicarious temple ordinances.  We know they were performing baptisms for the dead because Paul uses this as an evidence of the reality of the resurrection:  “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all?  Why are they then baptized for the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:29)?

Jesus likely introduced temple work for the dead to the Nephites –Prior to the atonement of Christ the Nephites enjoyed the blessings of the gospel.  They built temples and participated in ordinances for the living because “whenever the Lord has had a people on the earth who will obey His word, they have been commanded to build temples” (LDS Bible Dictionary, Temples).

Jesus introduced a new dispensation to the Nephites.  (See 3 Nephi 15:1-10)  He spoke of the mission of Elijah.  (See 3 Nephi 25)  He “expounded all things unto them, both great and small….even from the beginning until the time that he should come in his glory” (3 Nephi 26: 1, 3). 

Mormon explained that the greater part of what Jesus taught the Nephites would not be in the Book of Mormon, but that when people believe the Book of Mormon then the greater things shall be made manifest.  (3 Nephi 26:8-9).  The most “marvelous things…were forbidden that there should not any man write them….And many of them saw and heard unspeakable things, which are not lawful to be written” (3 Nephi 26:16, 18).  They like us were commanded not to speak or write these things outside the temple.

Testimony – The Prophet Joseph said things pertaining to the temple “are always governed by the principles of revelation.”  This makes the ordinances of the temple a mystery in the gospel sense.  A mystery is “a spiritual truth that was once hidden but now is revealed, and that without special revelation it would have remained unknown” (LDS Bible Dictionary, Mystery p. 736).

The Lord promises to “reveal all mysteries” and “all things pertaining to my kingdom” (D&C 76:7).  In important ways these promises are fulfilled as we worship in the temple.